It’s the End of the World As We Know It

Tomorrow marks what the Mayans called the “end of days” — what has been interpreted as the end of the world. It is on this day that all things as we know them are supposed to cease to exist.

While it seems unlikely that this prediction will come true, there has been talk about it. In my circle, we talked about the things that believers would do — the extreme measures that would take on their supposed last days on earth — good things, bad things, wild things, all under the assumption that none of it will matter come the 21st. I wonder now if any of that was in the head of the Newtown killer. Then again, I think we all wonder what could possibly have been in the head of such an evil person.

Which brings me to my next point. Perhaps it is the end of the world, as we know it. Perhaps on this day we can start anew. We can refocus our energies on loving each other and caring for each other. We can focus on ridding the world of evil. We can come together as a community and change the world.

Typically we wait until New Year’s to make resolutions and often they are personal goals or promises. Often we strive to keep these resolutions only for them to fade away after the first quarter of the year is complete. But this year just feels different. This year it feels like our resolutions should be bigger than ourselves, that we, as a nation, need to come together and reconnect with what’s important. We need to not let our impulses to be sucked into selfish, antisocial, or negative tendencies. We need to honor the good and push through the bad with a positive light.

The world is not ending. It is not too late to turn things around. Tomorrow will not be our last day on this planet. But perhaps if we let some of the bad die, we can have a better tomorrow.